Running the Ridge
by GimmeBanjo
Summary: “And the only way into the sun is walking / But you’d rather run / You’d rather run away.” It’s Seeley’s last week at home before he gets shipped off to Boot Camp. He just has to tell his siblings. Invicta AU
1. Chapter 1

Running the Ridge

"And the only way into the sun is walking / But you'd rather run / You'd rather run away." It's Seeley's last week at home before he gets shipped off to Boot Camp. He just has to tell his siblings.

So, I have a confession. Jared is one of my all time favorite Bones characters. I like him because he's real. He's honestly himself, no apologies. He bends when he needs to, but most of the time, he's just busy being himself. Maybe because I dated a guy like him, but for some reason, his character resonates more with me than any other character on the show. Sure, he has his vices… don't we all? Some of us drink too much, some of us smoke, some bite their nails and some pick their nose… Vices make us human and it's nice to know that people like Jared exist.

As always, your feedback would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

* * *

_You work 'round the clock, watch it tick and tock  
But this isn't your time  
Move over son, it's my turn to shine_

_And the only way into the sun is walking  
But you'd rather run__You'd rather run away  
~"You'd Rather Run" Jaymay_

* * *

"Is that spelled right?" 7 year-old Kelly held up the piece of paper for her 12 year-old brother Jared to read. She was sitting on the floor of their grandparent's living room, using the coffee table as a desk as she attempted to finish her homework. It was almost summer and she just had to do this one last book report.

"Uh," He squinted at it slightly from his position on the couch, trying to make out Kelly's chicken scratch printing. "Looks right?"

"You're useless." She sighed as Seeley walked by. "Seeley," She stopped him, "Is this spelled right?"

"Is it supposed to be 'presence'?" She nodded. "You switched the 's' and the 'c'." He informed her.

"If I ruled the world, I'd make it so that all words with S's and C's could be spelled with either." She muttered. "Switch them around," She waved her hands in the air. "Because Queen Kelly said so!"

"She learned that sarcasm from you." Seeley pointed at Jared accusatorily, but smiled as he made his way into the kitchen.

"Just like she learned to be a pain in the ass from you?" Jared smirked back.

"Don't say ass." Kelly looked up from her homework with a stern glare for her brothers. "Unless you're talking about a donkey, but you can't say it at school, either. A donkey is a donkey at school. Not an ass."

"Life lessons with Kelly Booth." Seeley laughed as he came back into the living room and plopped down on the carpet next to Kelly.

"Dad will get mad if we call it an ass at school." She whispered. "But he says it all the time."

"Normally only when he's talking about Seeley." Jared settled back into the pillows on the couch and smiled smugly at his brother.

Seeley frowned at his brother's nonchalance about their father. In a weeks time, he would be gone. His bus to Army Boot Camp would be waiting for him and he couldn't ask it to stay just so he could watch out for Jared. He rubbed his stiff shoulder, hoping a light massage would ease his pain. Desperately, he hoped that by this time next week, it wouldn't be bothering him anymore. Every day was better than the last, he reminded himself.

"Hey," Kelly held up her paper again, "Is this spelled right?"

Seeley glanced at the word. 'Include' was spelled right. He nodded with a small smile. "Imagine," He laughed. "If Queen Kelly had her way and switched all the C's with S's."

"Inslude." Kelly scrunched up her nose and laughed. "I'll change my law a little bit. It has to make sense to switch them."

"Good call." He nodded and leaned back on his elbows. "What are you writing?"

"A book report." She muttered as she used her big pink eraser to fix a mistake.

"What book?"

"Nate the Great." She threw a library book at him without looking up from her paper. "He's a detective. He solves mysteries."

"I love that book." Jared sighed from the couch, still relaxing against the pillows with a smile on his face. "Nate the Great, solving the case of the missing picture of Fang."

"And eating pancakes." Seeley laughed, remembering the story from his childhood. Pops had read it to him almost every time they saw each other when he was younger.

"You've read the book?" Kelly looked hopeful and thrust her paper at him. "Here! You write it then! You know bigger words than I do!"

"You don't have to use big words, Munchkin, you just have to write a good book report." He pushed her hands away.

"I hate book reports." She grumbled as she put the paper back on the coffee table and went back to writing.


	2. Chapter 2

Seeley fingered the BB gun that Pops kept in a locked drawer in his office. He was now standing in the backyard, across from a tree stump that he and Jared used for target practice. Seeley had only felt the weight of a real gun in his hands only a couple of times. Pops wouldn't allow them in the house, so he took Seeley to the shooting range occasionally. He never understood Pops' unending need to spend time with him. He assumed it was because Pops felt bad about how he was treated by his father. Trying to right a wrong or some altruistic reason.

"Shrimp," Seeley heard the backdoor swing up and his grandfather's heavy steps on the porch. "You practicing to be a Sharpshooter?"

"Yeah," He aimed the gun into the distance, pulled the trigger and let one of the small, metal balls fly out of the barrel. "I guess."

"Have you thought about how you're going to tell your brother and sister?" Hank sat on a nearby patio chair.

"Can't you do it?" Seeley turned around and looked pleadingly at his grandfather.

"No, Shrimp, it's your decision and your duty to your family." Hank shook his head.

"Well," He stepped up onto the porch and sank into a chair next to Hank. "I guess I want to tell Jared first, get him on my side. Kelly isn't going to take it too well, is she?"

"I don't know." Hank shook his head. "But if I were you, I'd rethink telling Jared first for two reasons. One, do you really want Jared to hold a very important secret for you? And two, is that really fair to Kelly to try to protect her like that?"

"Well," Seeley seemed lost in thought. "I'm supposed to protect them, right? I'm supposed to make sure things don't hurt them."

"Ever think that the things that could hurt them the most would be their own family?"

"You think I should tell them at the same time?"

"I think you should do what feels right. If it's telling them separately, then do that. But remember, everything you've given them, they've given back to you two-fold, because there's two of them." Hank smiled as he pushed himself off of the chair.

Seeley hated his grandfather's sometimes cryptic lessons.

"If you think I'm doing something wrong, why don't you just tell me so I don't do it?" He shouted as Hank reached the back door.

"It's not my place, Shrimp. I can't live your life for you, that's for you to do. All I ask is that you-"

"Listen to my heart, yeah, yeah." He sighed

"It hasn't steered you wrong yet, has it?" Hank quickly winked before he disappeared into the house

"Then I'm running dangerously close to having my number called." He grumbled as the door slammed shut.


	3. Chapter 3

They were finishing up dinner that night when Seeley cleared his throat.

"I have something to tell you all." He announced and all eyes at the table flew to his face. "I've been doing a lot of thinking and after my shoulder injury, I've lost my scholarship and things are just so tight-"

"How much does a male prostitute really make, anyway?" Jared bit into a cooked carrot and grinned wickedly.

"Jared Henry Booth." Their grandmother, Martha, scolded harshly and sent him a look that sent chills down his spine.

"What's a male prostitute?" Kelly asked with wide eyes, looking at Seeley.

"It's Jared being a jerk." Seeley answered plainly and shot his brother an annoyed look. Jared simply shrugged. "What I'm saying is, if I want to complete college, I have to find other ways to do it." He swallowed deeply. "I'm joining the Army."

"What?" Jared sat up, all traces of humor gone from his face.

"I'm leaving next weekend." Seeley nodded.

"Forever?" Kelly started breathing shallowly, panic written across her face.

"He's not going to be gone forever, Munchkin." Hank reassured her by patting her hand softly. "But he's going to be leaving the house."

"That's stupid, Seeley!" Jared shouted, a sudden rage overwhelming his small body. "You could go back to college! You could do anything with your life! The Army is just stupid!"

"Jared," Hank barked from across the table. "The military is a time-honored Booth family tradition. I served and your father served. Seeley's decision is commendable. He will be very successful there."

"Successful being a drone?" Jared's eyes flashed between his grandfather and his brother. "Yeah, okay, I see that."

"Jared," Martha threw her napkin onto the table and stood up. "To your room, now." She came around the table and pulled him up by his shoulder and forcefully led him out of the kitchen.

"What does the Army do, Seeley?" Kelly asked quietly after a moment.

"It defends the Unites States, Munchkin." He supplied, trying to put it in terms that the 7 year-old would understand.

"Then why is Jared mad about it?" She looked at him, her eyebrows furrowed in concern.

The first thought that passed through Seeley's head was "Because people die in the Army." But he couldn't tell Kelly that. His best response was to shrug his shoulders and return to the meatloaf on his plate.

*

Seeley was stretched out across his bed, blinking in the darkness. He heard the steady, shallow breathing of his brother across the room. It was probably passed midnight, Jared would have to get up for school tomorrow while Seeley would be able to sleep in until Pops would come in, pull the sheets off his bed and demand that he get up and help with some unending list of chores.

"Seeley?" A voice cut through the darkness. Seeley turned his head towards the sound and saw his brother sitting up in bed.

"Yeah?"

"Are you scared?" It was a difficult question for the young teenager to ask.

"Yeah." He said after a minute. He knew he owed it to his brother to be honest.

"Good, because I was beginning to think you didn't get scared."

"I get scared. A lot." He sighed. "I'm scared for you and Kelly, too."

"You don't need to be. I can take care of us."

"I'm sure you can."

"But you don't believe I can?" Jared said belligerently

"No, I do." He didn't want to be fighting.

"I'm glad you're going." Jared said directly "I mean, I don't hope you die or anything, but I'm glad you're going."

"Thanks, Jared." Seeley tried to hide the sarcasm in his voice.

"I mean it, Seeley." Jared said softly "I really do. I'm glad because I know it's something you'd be good at."

"Being a drone?" The sarcasm just leaked out and he saw Jared cringe.

"I'm sorry I said that."

"No you're not and it's okay." He sighed. "Things are going to change for you now and I think that it might be a good thing."

"I don't need you to tell me what's going to be good for me." Jared flopped back down onto his pillow and crossed his arms.

"No, I guess you don't and you won't have to worry about that after this weekend, right?"

"We're going to be fine without you." Jared said sharply, almost as if he needed to convince himself of that fact.

"I know."

"You just worry about yourself, Seeley." He grumbled. "Don't get yourself blown up or shot or anything because I don't want to be picking up the pieces of a broken Kelly."

"I'll keep that in mind." Booth said evenly.

The room was silent for a few minutes, each boy lost in his own thoughts. Seeley was thinking about how he knew Jared didn't mean to sound as harsh as he had come off. He knew Jared was just scared. And he was right. Jared was scared. He was thinking about how different life would be, how he was now the man of the family. At 12, he was suddenly responsible for a lot more than just himself and he didn't like that thought at all.

"This is really going to change a lot of things, right?"

"Yeah."

"I'm not you, Seeley."

"No one asked you to be."

"Good." He nodded. "Because they couldn't pay me to be you."

"Well, they couldn't pay me to be you, either, so I think we're pretty damn even." Seeley knew it was a lie. He would gladly step into Jared's irresponsible shoes if he had that choice, but he didn't. The weight of his recent decisions were weighing heavily on his shoulders. He believed what he was doing was the right thing. Pops had been right when he said it was a Booth family tradition, but it was more than that. The Army would give him a place to belong outside of the four walls of his grandparent's house.

"Seeley?"

"Yeah?"

"Good luck." Jared said remotely. "Is that what you say when someone goes off to Boot Camp?"

"I don't know." He couldn't help but fight back a grin.

"Okay, well, I said it anyway." Jared rolled over on his side, indicating the conversation was over for the night.


	4. Chapter 4

Seeley closed his duffle bag and took one last look around his room. His things were neatly put away where they belonged: books on the desk he and Jared shared and clothes neatly folded and placed in the drawers. He wouldn't be needing his civilian clothes anymore, he thought to himself with what he could only assume was melancholy.

He couldn't explain it. The decision he had been so certain of last week had become his biggest regret. In the past week, Jared had gotten into a fight at school and Kelly had become inconsolable. The only thing that could stop her fits of crying was Seeley himself. He didn't like the precedence it was starting and he most certainly did not like the idea of leaving his siblings right when they needed him.

Jared's things were strewn about the room. His pajamas were discarded in his haste to leave the room before Seeley had woken up. They both knew this day was coming and Jared was, as always, the first to run away. But he was only 12, Seeley kept reminding himself. Pops had said age wasn't going to be an excuse forever, but to Seeley, he would always be the little brother.

Seeley made his way downstairs and put his bag in front of the door. Out the front window, he saw Pops out in the driveway, fiddling with the car. The car that would take him to meet his destiny. Seeley laughed at the apocalyptic sound of the phrase.

He heard his grandmother in the kitchen, probably fixing breakfast for his brother and sister. He reluctantly followed the noise, knowing he should probably eat as well. When he rounded the corner into the kitchen, he saw Kelly sitting at her usual seat, singing a song.

"Chantilly lace, has a pretty face," Kelly sang, bobbing her head as her grandmother playfully danced by the stove. Kelly knew it was her grandmother's favorite song and she only brought it out when she saw what she called "the sad face" on one of her grandparents. "And a ponytail, hanging down. A wiggle in the walk and a giggle in the talk," She stopped when she saw Seeley standing in the entryway.

"Makes the world go 'round?" Martha stopped dancing and turned around and saw what Kelly was looking at. "Good morning, Private."

"Good morning, Grandma." He greeted politely as he slid into his usual seat across from Kelly. "Good morning, Kelly."

"Hi, Seeley." Kelly said rather sheepishly and started picking at the eggs that Martha had placed in front of her and Seeley.

"You don't want to keep singing?" He narrowed his eyes at her playfully and she shook her head. "Why not?"

"I just don't feel like singing." She mumbled

"Now that I'm here?" He asked, knowing she would nod her head. He looked up at his grandmother and frowned. "Munchkin, I'm not going away forever." He said softly as she continued to pick at her food. When she didn't respond, he looked back at Martha. "Do you know where Jared went this morning?"

"No, I haven't seen him." She shook her head. "His bike is gone, so I wouldn't be surprised if he's off with some of his friends."

"Alright." Seeley went back to his breakfast and mirrored Kelly's silent attack on the eggs.

"Are we ready to go?" A loud voice boomed from the front hallway. Kelly's eyes darted towards her oldest brother's and he nodded solemnly.

"I'm ready." He called back and stood from his seat. "Kelly?" He held out his hand. "Will you walk me to the car?" Reluctantly, she nodded and accepted his hand and held it tightly as they exited the kitchen and picked up his bag as they made their way outside.

He stopped in front of his grandfather's car and knelt down to meet Kelly's eyes when he suddenly remembered something he had picked up for her earlier in the week.

"Kelly, you can write me letters. And you can switch all of the Cs and Ss and I'll still be able to read it because I know about your law." He promised as he pulled out a small, white stuffed animal. "I got this for you. It's a seal. And when you're scared or lonely, you can tell it everything you would tell me." He whispered and she grasped at it silently, looking it in the eyes. "It can't talk back, but it can listen, Kelly. And you can hug it and know that I miss you just as much as you miss me."

"Okay." She said as she hugged the stuffed animal tightly. "Do you feel that?"

"Yeah." He laughed a little. "I do."

"Shrimp," Hank called from the car. "We've got to get going or they'll leave without you."

"I'm coming." He called over his shoulder and stood up and looked around. "Has Jared come back yet?"

"I still haven't seen him." Martha came up and pulled her eldest grandson into a warm hug. "But we'll just let him be for now. That's just Jared."

"I know." Seeley nodded and smiled as his grandmother. "I love you."

"I love you too, Seeley." She put her hand on his cheek. "You take care of yourself. This family needs you in one piece."

"I'll try." He promised.

He picked up his bag that he had placed on the ground and looked at Kelly one last time. She wasn't crying, but he could tell that she was on the verge of tears.

"This isn't forever, Munchkin. I'll be home soon and in the meantime, you just have to do a lot of cool things so you can tell me about them later, okay?"

"I'll try." She sniffed, echoing his promise. She threw her arms around his waist one last time. When it was clear she wasn't letting go, he started to pry her arms away from his body.

"I have to go now." He said as gently as he could. She stepped back and he threw his bad into the backseat of his grandfather's car and got into the passenger side of the waiting car.

As the car pulled out of the driveway Seeley refused to turn back, but he couldn't help but looking into the side mirror. He saw Kelly standing on the curb, face red and mouth open in a scream that was being drowned out by the car radio. In her hand, she was clutching the small seal he had given her, swinging it angrily as she stood there and cried. His grandmother was behind her, holding a strong hand on her shoulder in order to prevent her from running off after the car. He didn't see Jared.

But Jared sat on the concrete stairs that led to the kitchen entrance on the side of the house. He watched the car grow smaller as it made it's way down the street, finally disappearing around the corner. The only sound he heard was Kelly's inconsolable screams coming from the front lawn. He stood up and brushed the loose dirt off his jeans and mounted the steps. He paused when his hand touched the door handle. His grandmother could be heard trying to convince Kelly to come inside, but her screams continued. With a sigh, he jumped off the side of the steps and made his way to the front of the house.

"Grandma," He said as he approached them. "I've got this."

He stood next to Kelly for a moment, watching the road and trying to think like her. Maybe she was waiting for the car to turn around. Maybe she didn't know if she'd ever see Seeley again. He shook his head, not able to comprehend why his little sister was still screaming.

"Come on, Munchkin." He bent down and scooped her into his arms. At first, she fought him, kicking and screaming into his ear. She used the stupid stuffed seal as a weapon and beat it against his back. "Munchkin," He said soothingly. "I've got you. I'm not going anywhere. I've got you."

She stopped struggling and became lifeless in his arms, still whimpering as she threw her arms around his neck. As he started back towards the house, he felt his grandmother walking beside them. What he didn't know was that she was more proud of him in that moment than any other moment of the 12 years of his life.

It was then that he made the conscious decision that he wasn't picking up where Seeley left off. He never wanted to do that. It wasn't his responsibility to be what his brother was, it wasn't him. But he wasn't going to let Kelly hurt. He wasn't going to let her be alone.

He was going to show her that life goes on.

_**..fin..**_


End file.
